The Surfrider “Sign The Surfboard Tour” officially kicked off recently at the 17th Annual Clean Water Classic surf competition in Westport, WA. The board has been making it’s way up the West Coast, thru California and lately along the Oregon coast, and will now be here in Washington over the next month, appearing at WA chapter meetings and a handful of events. We are seeking recreational and tourism focused businesses, as well as any other business owners who support a clean and healthy ocean that is free of offshore drilling.

The tour is one strategy to combat the Trump administration’s proposal to open 90% of U.S. waters, including the Pacific coast, to new oil and gas drilling. The proposal threatens both the health of the marine environment and the many coastal businesses and industries that depend upon it for survival, thus Surfrider is engaged in a collaborative effort to build a strong coalition of coastal business voices.

The surfboard, donated to the Surfrider Foundation by Firewire Surfboards, began its journey in San Diego, CA in March and is traveling up the West Coast collecting signatures in local communities along the way. The Sign the Surfboard project has been enthusiastically received on its journey as hundreds of businesses add their signatures to our broader coalition effort with the Business Alliance to Protect the Pacific Coast. For BAPPC members, a healthy coast is vital to their bottom lines, as well as the lifestyles of their customers and staff.

The Washington coast is a wild and rugged place that is worth protecting. Photo: Gus Gates

Ever since the proposal was announced in January to open the Washington coast to offshore drilling, local and tribal communities, ocean users, state agencies and elected officials have joined a loud and growing chorus in efforts to defend our coast from this un-necessary threat to our coastal quality of life.

Coastal recreation provides significant economic and social benefits to coastal communities and the state—these include direct expenditures, as well as social benefits such as citizen enjoyment. In 2014, Washington residents took an estimated 4.1 million trips to the coast, translating to an estimated $481 million dollars in total direct expenditures for coastal communities and the state, through hotel visits, shopping, dining and other trip-related expenditures. Read more from our recreational use study of the Washington coast.

Don’t let this be the view of the Washington Coast

If you’re a coastal business owner interested in hosting the surfboard for a sign on event or just want to find out more about how you can support the Business Alliance to Protect the Pacific Coast, please contact Washington Policy Manager Gus Gates, or Washington Coastal Program Manager Casey Dennehy

The board will be available for signing at the following events: (More details to come)

In spring of 2019, Surfrider representatives and recreation industry leaders will present the surfboard to the White House and the U.S. Department of the Interior as a symbol of opposition to the Draft Proposed Program for Oil and Gas Outer Continental Shelf Leasing Program.

Are you a business opposed to offshore drilling? Then please “virtually” sign the surfboard by adding your name to our business petition.